AN: Greetings, everyone! This chapter took me a month to write, and I have no excuses for it, so I did kind of end up breaking that "one chapter per month" promise I had. Well, there's no use crying over spilt milk, as they say. But, as past readers will know, I never abandon any of my stories, so there's no need to get worried even if I take ages with an update. I will be starting another story project before the end of the year, which will most likely take priority over this one, so updates will become less frequent, but that can't be avoided. Still, I'll be doing my best with bringing in new chapters as often as I can, but with my limited free time and immense amount of things I want to do with said free time, we'll have to see just how "often" I'll be able to post updates.
Now, enough of my rambling, let's get into the chapter!
Chapter 3 – A Weekend Together
"So… that's him?"
"Without a doubt. I'd recognize his face anywhere. Does it not seem familiar to you, Yurippe?"
"Hmmm… I guess? I definitely get the feeling like I've seen him somewhere… And I have a mental image of this person being an idiot."
"Heh, that's certainly an accurate description of him, Yuri."
"Um… If you all are done now, could you..?"
The stranger who we were all crowded around – or more specifically, whose laptop we were crowded around – looked between myself, Hinata and Yuri, and I quickly gave him an apologetic smile.
"Ah, sorry, yes. Thank you for this, and we're sorry to have bothered you. Did you find the article yet, Yui?"
I bowed to the stranger in apology as Yui tapped away on her phone, an 'Ah!' sound escaping her lips just as we returned to the table we had left out drinks at.
"Here it is. 'Young and reckless criminal finally caught after evading capture by the police for a month'. Heh, at least one of us has made it into the headlines." Yui said as she turned her phone around, showing to use the same news article as the one we'd seen displayed on the stranger's laptop screen. Yep, it's definitely him. That scowl and the purplish shade of hair is hard to forget.
"Maybe not for the best reasons, though." Yuri said from my right as she reached out towards Yui's phone, and the pink-haired girl handed the device to her. "What did you say his name was? Noda, right?" Yuri continued as she closely examined the picture provided in the article, while Kanade leaned closer to her friend to take a look as well, though her short stature seemed to cause some difficulty
"Yeah, that's him. Noda was stubborn at the best of times, and acted very antagonistic towards most of us, even if we did fight on the same side. You were the only one he listened to back during the days of the SSS." Hinata explained, and Yuri handed Yui's phone back to the girl. "You must remember him as well, right, Tachibana-san?" The white-haired girl looked to Hinata and nodded in reply.
"He stood out from amongst you all, given his choice of weapon. It was… peculiar, to say the least, but quite brave." Kanade said, while Yuri raised an eyebrow in question. "Noda-san seemed to prefer using a melee weapon – a halberd – when fighting, rather than a firearm." Yuri's eyes widened slightly out of surprise, before she looked to me with a look of disbelief, while I simply nodded to her with a slight smile. I was unfortunate enough to meet the business end of his halberd as one of my first experiences in the Afterlife. He did have surprisingly good technique with a medieval weapon such as that.
"Noda was good with his halberd, and while he didn't really act friendly with the rest of us, he followed Yurippe's orders as if they were the law. This... might sound a little mean, but… I'm not surprised that we found out about him like this, knowing what his personality was like back then." Hinata rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"Hehee… And you wouldn't have done it without me and my eagle eyes!" Yui puffed out her chest in pride. Well, I suppose she is correct. She was the one to notice a vaguely familiar face on someone's laptop screen, and proceeded to confirm her suspicions by nearly scaring the owner of said laptop to death when she appeared behind him to peer at the news article he had been reading. I'm surprised she didn't shout out loud when she realized it was indeed who she thought it was.
"So, what does the article say he did? And where was he caught?" Iwasawa asked as she took a glance at Yui's phone, the girl currently scrolling through the news article. The article said something about Maebashi, I think. I only had a brief look, though. It's northwest of Tokyo, where none of us have been before, which explains why we haven't run into him.
"He was arrested for two cases of burglary that happened in the past month, but this wasn't his first time to have been convicted of a crime. Apparently he has a history with the police, having been convicted for robbery and shoplifting before. His previous arrests happened in Tokyo, but this time he was caught in Maebashi." Yui explained and lifted her gaze again, meeting each of our eyes in turn. "Noda has certainly been busy."
"Maebashi, huh..." Iwasawa looked upwards in thought for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope, never been there. I've lived in multiple different places, as my family has moved around all over the place, but the closest I've been to Maebashi has been Tokyo."
"I do wonder why Noda would have resorted to crime, even if his personality is still the same or similar to what he was like in the Afterlife. What could have happened? It makes me… a little worried." I mused out loud and reached for my drink, taking a few sips.
"Why does anyone resort to crime?" Hinata asked in turn, letting out a small sigh. "Desperation would be the most likely cause. Or rebelliousness. I certainly had a bit of a rebellious streak when I was younger, but I never went as far as to break the law. We won't know why until we ask Noda himself, or learn about his circumstances." Hinata took his own drink, finishing what was left of it in one big gulp, while Yui kept reading through the article, biting onto the straw in her drink.
"How will we go about doing that, though?" Yuri asked, her gaze shifting between each of us. Yes, contacting him will certainly be difficult… I suppose Yui and Hinata could do it, since they're heading back to Chiba soon, but maybe a detour to Maebashi would be a bit too much. "This Noda guy is all the way in Maebashi, probably locked up at some police station until he gets fined or thrown into jail. I don't think any of us could easily just get over there and talk to him." As Yuri finished, she crossed her arms, and I noticed her eyes moving to my drink, where her gaze lingered for a few moments, until she met my eyes and hastily looked away. Hm? What, is she surprised by my order? Well, I guess an iced soda like this is not something I usually drink. Either that, or...
"You want some?" I asked from Yuri and held out my drink towards her, and my girlfriend looked at me first with a bit of surprise, then took it from my hands.
"...I suppose I'll take you up on that offer." Yuri said and brought my drink to her lips. She could have just asked me… I guess we still are early into this relationship. That, and Yuri is too proud to ask something like that – at least in public. She's plenty cuddly when we're alone.
"Hmmm..? Isn't that an indirect kiss, Yuri?" Iwasawa said with a grin and nudged my girlfriend with her elbow, while Yuri simply smiled as she gave my drink back to me.
"Hah, Yuzuru and I have done much worse things already, don't you worry." Yuri replied with a smirk and sent me a sideways glance. "A mere indirect kiss is nothing at this point when we've already shared a bed together." I knew Yuri was teasing me, but couldn't help my cheeks heating up at her words. She's purposefully saying it in a way that will make people misunderstand...
"W-what? Otonashi-kun, you and Yurippe have already gone that far?! You only just got together earlier this week, right?" Hinata grabbed me by the shoulders and looked at me with a desperate expression, and I let out a sigh as I pushed him away.
"No, we… I let Yuri stay at my place Monday night, and we slept in the same bed – but that was all! She's saying misleading things on purpose." I sent Yuri a slight glare, which my girlfriend promptly ignored, the smirk she still wore on her face telling me she was clearly enjoying my embarrassment. I know she's definitely also feeling embarrassed about this, but she's gotten better at hiding it. Haah… I'll just have to accept this as my loss. "Anyway, let's return to the topic at hand. We'll need to find some way to contact Noda, which will, in the worst-case scenario, involve a prison visitation. Oh, and Mikado-sensei stayed behind in the private cubicle, so we should get back to her with these news." I let my gaze wander over everyone else, steering the conversation away from mine and Yuri's relationship. Apart from kissing and cuddling, we haven't progressed to anything physical yet. And even if we did do… something, that's something between the two of us! It's none of Hinata's – or anyone else's – business. Besides, I feel that it's a bit… early for anything more just now. These things take their time and come on their own... I think. Well, Hinata should at least understand that much… Unless… Maybe Yui and him haven't crossed that line yet?
…
Let's stop that train of thought right there.
Luckily, I had managed to successfully change the subject, and we quickly finished all of our respective drinks while trying to look for any more information about Noda. Unfortunately, we were unable to find anything other than the singular news article we had initially seen. Yui told us that when she and Hinata had regained their memories, one of the first things they had done in an attempt to look for more members of the SSS was look their names up online, but this had yielded no results – their first success, finding my correct phone number, took a long time and a lot of digging. Noda only made it "into the news" with this article because he had managed to become "famous" locally, after being on the run from the police for quite a while. The article in itself was very short, and didn't provide us any information about Noda's circumstances, so the only real option we had left would be to speak to him ourselves.
Yui was the last one to finish her drink, after which we returned to the private cubicle where Doctor Mikado was waiting for us. While we were gone, she had been reviewing everything she had jotted down about our conversation before, and was now very eager to hear about our discovery.
"Well, I can see you haven't brought in anyone new. But, you did find someone, right?" Mikado questioned from us once we had all returned, and we gave her a couple of nods in return.
"Yeah, we did. Though we won't be able to meet him that easily… Here, Yui can show you." Hinata said and turned to his girlfriend, who moved over to Doctor Mikado and took out her phone, with Mikado leaning closer to the device.
"We – I – saw this news article on someone's laptop and instantly recognized the person in it. Noda was one of the members of the SSS in the Afterlife." Yui explained as she handed her phone to Mikado, who began to scan through the article on display. "But, as you can see, we won't be able to meet him that easily."
"Hmm… So it would seem. Maebashi is not exactly next-door, but if you take the shinkansen, a quick visit wouldn't be completely unreasonable. You'll have more trouble actually getting to meet him, as the police won't let you do so without a good reason." Mikado said and placed Yui's phone on the table in front of her, then moved her gaze across each of us. The bullet train… Certainly, we wouldn't need to stay in Maebashi, so a one-day trip could work... "So you all recognize this young man as one of your friends from the Afterlife? It couldn't be someone who happens to look similar?" Hinata, Iwasawa and I looked at each other briefly, then all nodded to Mikado. It's definitely him. After regaining my memories, the feelings of Déjà-vu I had before haven't been as strong as they were before, but I immediately knew he was the Noda.
"It feels like… a bit more than just recognizing the face of someone you've seen before." Hinata said, crossing his arms as he tried to find find the correct words to say. "We have our memories from the Afterlife, of course, and I can safely say that the face matches with the one I remember, but when I look at his picture… I don't know how to properly explain it, but I just know it's him." I nodded alongside Hinata's explanation.
"I see… That does then make me curious – what do you feel when you look at him, Nakamura-san?" Mikado turned her gaze to Yuri and pointed a finger at Yui's phone.
"Like when I met these guys for the first time… It feels like I've seen him before, and I feel Déjà-vu when I look at the picture. His face is familiar, but… At the same time, I know that I've never seen him in my life. Because of everyone else, I know that he is Noda and I've met him in the Afterlife, but I still don't remember him. That's... about it." Yuri explained to Mikado, who quickly wrote something in her notebook. It's exactly how I felt when I met Yuri and the others for the first time – eerily familiar, yet a complete stranger.
"Interesting… You were planning on meeting this Noda fellow, so do I apologize for my sudden questions. I am getting very into the idea of studying this 'phenomenon' you all experience." In response to Doctor Mikado's words, I smiled at the older woman and shook my head.
"You don't need to apologize for that, Mikado-sensei. We don't mind, and I don't know about everyone else, but I'm very happy that there's someone else who doesn't share the same experiences we do but still believes us." I looked to Yuri, who smiled at me, while Hinata gave me a nod of approval. "You didn't dismiss Yuri and I as nutcases immediately, and we really appreciate you for that."
"You do have quite the way with words, Otonashi-kun. Nakamura-san is a lucky girl indeed." Mikado replied with a smile, and Yuri instantly moved to take my hand into hers, at which Mikado's smile twisted into a smirk. "So, what are you planning on doing about Noda, then? If he gets sent to prison, you might have either a harder or an easier time meeting him, depending on how you look at it."
"We have to meet with him, that much is for sure." Iwasawa was the one to speak first. "Then we need to determine if he has regained his memories – which should be easy enough to do – and if so, how he regained them." Iwasawa glanced briefly at Yuri, and I felt her hand gripping onto mine tighter. I know she feels guilty at still not having managed to remember everything, but it's not her fault. We don't think any less of her. "I would otherwise be fine with a quick trip to Maebashi, but I already have things planned for this weekend." She then continued and looked to Hinata and Yui, who in turn looked at each other.
"I… might be able to go visit at some point next week, but I'm unsure until we can get back home. And, it might already be too late at that point." Hinata said and rubbed the back of his neck, turning his gaze to me. "How about you, Otonashi-kun?"
"I don't have anything going on this weekend. I was planning on visiting Hatsune in the hospital again tomorrow, but there's no rush to it. I could even bring her a souvenir from Maebashi." I replied, then looked to Yuri, who furrowed her brows as she looked back at me. "What do you say, Yuri? Do you have anything going on?" I felt Yuri's hold on my hand tighten again momentarily, before she let out a sigh and let go of my hand.
"Nothing, really. But… I was hoping that..." Yuri trailed off and averted her gaze from me, and I raised an eyebrow in question. Hm? What's gotten into her now? "...We could… you know. Spend the weekend together. Just… hang out, watch a movie, or like… something." Yuri kept stealing small glances at me as the realization struck. Ah, right… Of course, Yuri would want to spend weekends with me… Agh, I'm such an idiot.
"A-ah, sorry. Um… yes, we can do that. I… didn't think." I apologized to my girlfriend, and saw Yui grinning as she looked at us. Were Hinata and Yui like this at the start of their relationship, I wonder..? To be honest, they don't really act much like a couple, but that could just be them not preferring public displays of affection – and I wholly understand the appeal of such a thought, now.
"Haah… It's fine, Yuzuru. I'm used to you 'not thinking'." Yuri said and crossed her arms, then grinned and gave me a playful tap on the head with her fist. "But, I didn't mean we couldn't go. As long as we're t-together, I don't really mind where we spend our weekend." I saw a slight blush creeping onto Yuri's face as she averted her gaze from me, but her embarrassment didn't last long as she cleared her throat and looked towards Kanade. "What about you, Kanade? Do you have anything going on over the weekend?"
"Hm? I sent you my schedule for the entire week when we planned this meeting, did I not?" Kanade asked with a tilt of her head, and Yuri's eyes widened momentarily. Right, she did do that… I can't remember anything about it, though, and judging by her expression, Yuri doesn't either.
"A-ah, right, yes, you did… Sorry, I can't remember it right now. It was very… thorough." Yuri replied with an awkward smile, and Kanade gave her friend a reassuring one in return.
"That is fine, Yuri. I shouldn't have anything going on over the weekend, but I have reason to believe that my family might want to do something with me, as I have not met with them in some time. They tend to be... less organized than I am, and only inform me of their plans right at the last second. It is quite frustrating." Kanade explained and let out a small sigh. Huh, somehow I imagined Kanade would still have lived with her parents… Her family has never really come up in conversation. "So, in short, I am unsure if I'll be able to make a trip to Maebashi this weekend."
"That's fine, you should take the weekend to rest anyway. I know you've been working hard, Kanade." I said to the white-haired girl with a smile, and she stared back at me for a few moments, before averting her gaze and nodding slightly. "It looks like visiting Noda in Maebashi will fall to Yuri and I, then. At least, if we want to visit this weekend." I continued and let my gaze wander over everyone else.
"We could always wait. Now we know where he is, so if we tried finding his phone number, it'd be much easier than trying for shots in the dark like we had to do with Otonashi-kun." Yui said, and Hinata nodded next to her. I'm still not quite sure how they found mine in the first place. I know they tried multiple different numbers, but they never told me how they found those numbers in the first place.
"We don't know if Noda lives in Maebashi, though, just that he was arrested there." Iwasawa pointed out. "He was arrested in Tokyo before, so for all we know he could live somewhere in that area, or even somewhere completely different. I don't want to sound like I'm pressuring anyone, but I think if we want to get in contact with Noda, we have to take this chance." She continued, and I had to agree – she was right. Noticing the news article was pure dumb luck on our part, who knows when we'll be able to find another member of the SSS as easily as this. Unless…
"If fate is pulling us all together, like it did with us three, wouldn't that mean we would eventually meet with Noda-san regardless?" Kanade voiced out the same thoughts I had as she gestured to herself, Yuri and I. Exactly what I was thinking. Kanade and I have been reunited in this life, but the force that pulled us together – fate – is not stopping. But, we know that fate is not something set in stone, that we can change it, so maybe if we don't take the chances we are given… that would be us influencing it. For better or worse, we can't say.
"That does sound plausible, but… I don't know about the rest of you, but I really want to see the gang all together again as soon as possible. Yui and I were kind of on our own for a good while, even after regaining our memories together." Hinata continued after Kanade, and his girlfriend nodded next to him. "After we found Otonashi-kun, and subsequently the rest of you, I've gotten really pumped up about finding everyone else and seeing what they're up to. We know where Noda is right at this moment, and I have to agree with Iwasawa-san – we might regret not taking the chance to go find him." Hinata does have a point, and I definitely want to meet everyone again as well… Well, maybe Noda wouldn't be my first choice of who I'd like to meet, but this could lead to us meeting others as well.
"It sounds like we have a weekend date in Maebashi ahead of us." I said and turned to my girlfriend. "What do you say, Yuri?" Yuri met my gaze with her own and smiled at me.
"Well, like I said, it doesn't really matter where exactly we spend the weekend. And… Maybe meeting this 'Noda' will help with my memories as well. So… I guess it is a date, then." Yuri took a hold of my hand again with a slight dusting of red on her cheeks, and if the heat I felt on my own was any indication, mine likely looked about the same. "I will need to go over how much money I've got on hand right now, though it should be fine to spend a little, as I'll be getting my next paycheck soon enough." She then mused out loud, bringing her free hand up to her chin.
"Would you even be spending that much money? It'll only be a one-day trip."
"Is that your way of saying that you'll be the one buying things for me? Ah, what a thoughtful partner I have! Thanks, Yuzuru~" Yuri grabbed onto my arm and leaned her head on my shoulder, her mouth curving into a grin. Ah!
"N-no, that's..." I tried to protest, but lost all will to do so as I stared down at Yuri's eyes. Letting out a sigh, I admitted my defeat while Yui let out an audible laugh as she looked at us. I didn't see that coming at all… Seems she still firmly has the upper hand when it comes to our banter. I've been able to one-up her from time to time, but Yuri is not going to let me off easy, even if we are now dating.
"Ahahaa… You cornered yourself there, Otonashi-kun. You really have to be careful with what you say around women, they remember everything and then use it against you like that – I speak from experi- Augh!" Hinata was cut off by Yui as she stomped on his foot and sent him a glare, which Hinata returned. Maybe Hinata could give me some advice..? Though, knowing him and his relationship with Yui, I feel like any advice he could give wouldn't exactly translate well to others…
"What Hinata-kun said may or may not have some credit to it, but… I do want to remind you, Otonashi-kun, that should you ever wish it… my previous offer still stands." Doctor Mikado said to me with a smile, and I had to avert my gaze from the older woman, while Yuri narrowed her eyes at me in suspicion. "Don't worry, Nakamura-san, I'm only joking. You two work so well together, it would be a crime to separate you. Doesn't mean I'm not a little bit jealous, though." Mikado continued with a wink, and I felt my cheeks heating up slightly at her words. Did she have to say that in front of everyone, though..?
"Have to agree with the Doc here – not on the being jealous bit, but the other one. Can't say I ever thought Otonashi, the newcomer liked by everyone, would match well with our fearless leader Yuri, but now that I'm seeing it, you two make a surprisingly cute couple. I can even tell you're able to bring out some of the feminine meekness she likes to hide so much, Otonashi." Iwasawa said with a grin, and I saw Yuri's cheeks reddening slightly. We all haven't known each other for that long in this life, but I know Iwasawa and Yuri have a long history together from the Afterlife. It makes sense she's able see something like that in her, even if we have all changed somewhat upon our reincarnation.
"Agh, enough of this! It's settled that Yuzuru and I will go see if we can get in contact with Noda this weekend, so let's get back on track! We're trying to make my memories return, here, and I'm sure Mikado-sensei has more questions, so start working those brains!" Yuri exclaimed with a louder voice as she dislodged herself from me and crossed her arms, and I felt a smile growing on my face as I watched her. It is relieving to know she can still be embarrassed – it's my one weapon against her in our banter together.
As per Yuri's quite vocal request, we continued trying to devise ways of helping Yuri with her memories. Now that Noda was fresh on our minds, a lot of our solutions ended up revolving around the other, still missing members of the SSS, how close they had been with her, and if found, could they be of any help. We were able to narrow things down to a couple of members who had been relatively close with Yuri in the Afterlife: Hisako, the co-founder of Iwasawa's band, who Yuri had at one point been a member of, Yusa, who had acted as Yuri's "right hand" and supported her and the other members as a messenger during many operations, as well as certain important members of the Guild who Yuri had been in frequent contact with. Iwasawa especially expressed wanting to reunite with Hisako if possible, but couldn't confirm how much the girl would be able to help Yuri, as even Iwasawa herself hadn't known everything about Yuri in the Afterlife.
In the end, not much progress was made, which discouraged Yuri somewhat, but we reassured her by saying that we now had a clear plan ahead – to find the other members of the SSS and exposing Yuri to anything we felt related to something significant enough from the Afterlife. We were positive that if we could even make fragments of memories reappear, like had already happened, eventually the pieces would form together. But we knew there was no need to try and rush things. Due to our fates pulling us together, so much had happened in such little time, and we figured that taking things slow would be a good idea.
By the time we all left the cafe and said our goodbyes, evening was already approaching. Most of us went our separate ways, but Yuri – who I was escorting home – and myself ended up going with Iwasawa to the nearest station. We made light chatter along the way, but eventually separated as Iwasawa took a different train than the one we would take, so we bid her goodbye as well. With just Yuri and I remaining, we boarded the train that would take us to her place.
We stayed silent during the train ride, content with just each other's company as we held hands. I could feel a few gazes from some of the other passengers as Yuri leaned her head on my shoulder, but they weren't enough to bother us. And with each passing moment, the excitement for our first trip together – even if it was a small one – grew in our minds. It's just like Yuri said. I'll be happy no matter where I am, as long as I am together with her.
"...ri."
Mmmm… What's with… all these computer screens..? And who are you..?
"...ri!"
...You can change the world. If you choose to.
...You could choose the path he didn't choose in this world.
…
...I could… become God?
…
"Yuri!"
Hearing my name being called, I was brought out of my dreams, and I proceeded to groggily rub my eyes as I took in my surroundings. What is… Ah, right…
"...Yuzuru..?" I looked to my left, where Yuzuru was sitting next to me, inadvertently letting out a yawn as I did. Ugh, was I this tired? I guess I only have myself to blame for that, though…
"You were in a really deep sleep, there. You were all energetic this morning, so I got worried." Yuzuru said as I stretched my arms and shook off the last of my sleepiness. "We're almost there. The next stop will leave us at Maebashi."
"Right, yes. Sorry, I didn't get much sleep last night, and prepping this morning took all of my remaining energy." I replied, not wanting to disclose the fact that I hadn't gotten enough sleep due to the excitement of getting to spend the day with Yuzuru like this keeping me up. He'd just tease me endlessly if he knew… At least I was able to have this little nap on our train ride, so I won't be completely exhausted for our date… Hm? Suddenly, an odd feeling came over me, but it was gone as soon as it had appeared. What was that..? Wait, did I have a dream just now when I was asleep..? I can't really remember anything from it, though… It was… weird, I think. Nothing like I've had before. I tried to recall what I had dreamed of during my nap, but nothing came up. Well, at least it didn't follow the trend that most of my dreams have recently done…
I stole a quick glance at Yuzuru and instantly felt my cheeks heat up as the dreams I had had during the week resurfaced vividly. O-of course, we've just begun dating, so it's understandable I'd be… longing for such… a-activities, but… It just makes things awkward if I remember the damn dreams every time I look at his face! Besides, I think it's still too soon for us, so I need to get my dreams in check.
"Yuri? Are you sure you're okay?" Yuzuru leaned closer to me, and I had to keep myself from pushing him away, as that would no doubt give him the wrong idea. Calm down, heart! Just need to forget about the dreams, and I'll be okay. Right, here we go.
"Yes, I was just a little tired, that is all." I replied and looked Yuzuru in the eyes, pushing away the images that overlapped with his face in my head. Gah, when did you become like this, Yuri? Get a grip on yourself! "This nap helped a lot, so you don't have to worry." I then continued with a smile. Besides, my current troubles don't even have anything to do with my lack of sleep, but that is another thing I can't tell him.
"Alright, if you say so." Yuzuru said, but I could tell he was still worried, so I simply let out a sigh and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"I can't say it's not charming how much you worry about me, but I'm okay, Yuzuru. Really." I said to reassure him and took his hand into mine, intertwining our fingers. "Let's just enjoy our trip here, and try to find Noda, okay?" I looked up at Yuzuru, and he nodded to me with a smile in reply.
With Yuzuru finally relaxing, we silently waited for the train to reach our stop in Maebashi. And as Yuzuru had awoken me right before we reached our stop, the wait wasn't long, as soon enough the announcer on the train informed us that we'd be arriving at the next stop.
We departed from the train at the aptly-named Maebashi station, at the very heart of the city. We had left early in the morning to give ourselves as much time as possible, so it wasn't even midday yet. Despite this, the station was full of people going to and fro, so we didn't linger for long and instead headed outside. Maebashi is known for its nature, but here at the centre of the city, it looked like any other metropolitan city in Japan, which somewhat dampened my excitement about the trip. Well, I should really have expected it, to be honest. At least there will be plenty of parks and such along the Tone river, and Mount Akagi is just a stone's toss away… Though hiking isn't really either of our forte…
"Right, where should we go first, then..." Yuzuru mused out loud as we stood outside the station, my gaze directed at the peak of Mount Akagi, just about visible in the distance above the roofs of the buildings around us. I do kind of want to go there at some point today, though. There's bound to be a 'casual' mountain trail or something, right? "There is a police station close to here, so we could start by going there and asking about Noda?" I turned to Yuzuru, who had taken his phone out and was pointing behind himself with his thumb.
"I guess since it's here we might as well." I replied with a shrug, then leaned closer to Yuzuru. "But, I want you to keep in mind that first and foremost, today is a date. Got it?" I pointed an accusative finger at Yuzuru, keeping my gaze locked with his. I don't mind us having to look for Noda, as that is what we promised the others we'd do, and it might help with recovering my memories, but I did originally plan to spend this weekend with Yuzuru – and I won't have those plans disturbed.
"Of course, Yuri. I'm… not really used to these kinds of things, but I'll be doing my best." Yuzuru said with an awkward smile. Well… it's not like I have any experience either… Iwasawa did send me some unsolicited advice via text message last night, but this is still my first 'big' date… Obviously, we've been out together lots this week, but this is our first weekend together as a couple, and we're on a trip as well! But, it does reassure me to know Yuzuru is nervous as well. I smiled, then took Yuzuru's hand into my own.
"Well, let's get going then. The quicker we find Noda, the more time we'll have for… you know. D-date stuff." Yuzuru stood still for a moment, a slight hint of red rising to his cheeks, before he nodded to me in reply.
Hand-in-hand, we started to make our way towards the small police station. It was an overcast day, but if the weather forecast was to be believed, it shouldn't rain today, which was good news for us. I should have probably taken some warmer clothes, though… We're still nowhere near winter, but the days have been getting noticeably cooler as of late. Hmm… Maybe Yuzuru and I could go shopping for some new clothes..? Suddenly, I recalled when Yuzuru and I randomly met while out shopping a few weeks ago, not long after our first meeting, and my cheeks heated up as the memories of what had transpired reappeared. Augh, that was so embarrassing… If we do go shopping for clothes, we're steering away from any lingerie stores, for sure. Shaking my head a little to clear away my thoughts, Yuzuru raised an eyebrow as he looked at me, but I paid it no heed, and Yuzuru didn't comment on it.
It didn't take long until the two of us had arrived at the police station. As we entered, Yuzuru let go of my hand, perhaps feeling embarrassed, and after a devilish thought entered my head, I quickly snatched his hand back into mine and held tight. Yuzuru's head turned to me in a flash, and expression of surprise on his face, while I grinned at him in return and leaned closer to whisper in his ear.
"I told you this trip was a date, did I not?" I brought to point across by blowing some air into Yuzuru's ear, which cause him to flinch and his cheeks to redden. Ah, I love to tease him like this… Even though it's a little embarrassing, it's worth it in the end.
Yuzuru let out a sigh, but didn't complain any further as we went to sit down and wait until we could get a chance to speak with the person at the desk (I assumed she was a policewoman, but the lack of the recognizable uniform made me unsure) currently occupied with an elderly man. Apart from us, there were no other people present, though a middle-aged man entered shortly after us and sat down to wait as well, reading a newspaper to pass the time. Just like in the train, Yuzuru and I were content with just quietly sitting by ourselves, though I didn't lean on him like I had done in the train – but I did keep a firm grip on his hand. I've read and heard people tell about what it's like to be with the person they love, but to think just something simple like holding Yuzuru's hand could make me feel so happy is just… I don't even know. It's amazing.
After a few minutes, the elderly man seemed to have finished his business, and we made our way to the front desk, where a pane of glass separated us from a woman who couldn't be much older than us, so I guessed she must have gotten the job recently.
"Greetings! How can I help you two?" She asked from us with a smile, her gaze flitting between me and Yuzuru.
"Ah, hello. We… How should I explain it…" Yuzuru paused and thought for a moment, trying to find the right wording. "We saw a news article that said a young criminal named Noda was detained by the police recently in this area, and we were wondering if it was possible to see him. He is a friend, so… is it possible to ask where he is being held?" He then asked. The news article meant his arrest was public information, so we made the assumption it would be fine to ask about seeing him. Whether they'll let us actually do that, or even disclose which police station he is being held in is another thing entirely.
"A visitation? Hold on a moment." The woman began to tap away at her computer, while I felt a sudden vibration coming from my pocket. A message? "You are correct that a person called that was arrested this week, but I'll need some form of identification from you two before I can tell you anything more. We cannot let just anyone meet with those who have been arrested, even if they are 'friends'. You understand?" The woman continued as I took out my phone. Reimi? I wonder what she wants..?
"Yes, of course. Here you go." Yuzuru said as he took out his wallet and extracted a card from within, placing it on the counter in front of the hole at the bottom of the pane of glass. Letting go of Yuzuru's hand, I did the same, and the woman took both cards as she started to type something into her computer again. It's probably a database to see if we have any criminal records. Unless Yuzuru has something in his past he's not told me about, we should be fine. But, Reimi… Returning my attention to my phone, I opened up the message sent to me by the younger girl I had become friends with.
"Hey, Yuri. This might come a little out of nowhere, but I was wondering if you were free today? I wanted to… hang out, or something. Yesterday, I visited that cafe you told me about, and it was great, so if you're free, we could like, go there together, maybe?"
I read through Remi's message, coming to the conclusion that the cafe she was talking about must have been La Soleil. She must have come there after we had already left, or been to it before us, depending on what her classes were like. Come to think of it, she seems to get from school quite early, so she must have been there before us… A bit of a shame, it would have been great to introduce her to Yuzuru. I replied with a short apology saying that I was out of town, and suggested that maybe we'd be able to go together in the week. Reimi immediately replied back in agreement, and even though it was purely through text, I could feel her eagerness from the message, and I could help but smile a little. Reimi is a little awkward, but I've been enjoying her company so far. She's a good friend, I'd say. Her other friends I'm not too sure about, though… Reimi said that Yoshikage or whatever his name was isn't really all he says he is, but he still seemed like not the nicest guy around.
"Alright, everything seems to be good." The woman said after a little while and handed our IDs back to us. "The person you are looking for is not detained at this station. You'll need to go to the headquarters of the prefectural police. It's located near Maebashi park, I can get you the address in a moment." She continued and began to type away at her computer again.
"Ah, I'll be able to find it quickly enough." I said, and she stopped typing as she met my eyes while I began to do a quick search on the 'Maps' application on my phone. Let's see… This is Maebashi so it will be… the Gunma Prefecture Police Headquarters… Here it is. "Yes, I've found it now, thanks. So he is being held there, then?"
"That is correct, yes. I can inform the people there that you'll be coming over, if you'd like? You'll still need to go through the standard security checks, only then will they determine if you'll be allowed to see the arrestee." Yuzuru and I looked to each other for a moment. Well, we've found out where he is. That was quicker than expected.
"Should we go straight there? It's not too far away." Yuzuru asked and pointed at my phone screen.
"We know where he is, now, so we don't really need to rush there. Unless..." I shifted my gaze to the woman at the desk and raised an eyebrow in question.
"I do not know if and when the arrestee will be moved. His initial arrest happened on the other side of town, and after his detainment there, he was moved to his current location. I can make the safe assumption that if he is moved somewhere, it will likely happen either tomorrow morning, or on Monday, but certainly not any time around midday on a Saturday like this." The woman explained to us, and I turned back to Yuzuru.
"So, there's no rush. We can go and… you know. Do stuff, then go see if we can get to meet with him after." I said to Yuzuru, and he brought a hand up to his chin as he thought.
"If I inform the people at the station that they know to expect you, I'll also be able to find out if the arrestee will be moved anywhere today, or if it is even possible to hold a visitation. I will need a bit of time to wait for the answer, however." Sounds fair to me. Yuzuru looked at me with a raised eyebrow, and I nodded to him.
"Alright, that sounds good to us. If you inform the other station now, how long will you need before you'll have the information regarding Noda?" Yuzuru asked, and the woman began to type away on her computer yet again.
"There will be someone on call over there, so depending on how busy they are right at this moment, perhaps ten or fifteen minutes at max. You can wait here if you'd like, we have refreshments available." The woman gestured at a water dispenser and what looked like a coffee machine in one corner of the area we had waited at.
"That sounds fine by me. Yuri?" Yuzuru asked and looked to me again.
"We're not in any hurry, so sure thing." Yuzuru nodded to me, then we both turned to the woman at the desk again.
"Alright. You two can go and wait, and I'll call for you once I've received a reply from the other station."
Doing as we were told, we returned to where we were before, with Yuzuru taking one of the paper cups provided and utilizing the water dispenser. We passed the time by looking at various maps and tourism websites for things we could do while we were here, and narrowed some things down based on the location of the prefectural police headquarters. Firstly, we both wanted to go see the Maebashi Park Sachinoike. While it wasn't the right season for cherry blossoms, we figured visiting the park would still be well worth it. A historical attraction, the Rinkokaku was also nearby, which Yuzuru showed some interest in seeing (though I didn't really see its value as date spot, I kept my thoughts to myself, as Yuzuru seemed oddly excited about the prospect of seeing it). And after confirming the schedules for some bus routes, we both agreed that a visit to the top of Mount Akagi and the shrine there was a must while were here, even if the bus trip took some time.
As we planned our activities for the day, we lost track of time, and suddenly the woman at the desk of the police station called out to us, having received a reply from her colleague at the bigger station. According to her, Noda was still detained at the Gunma Prefecture Police Headquarters, and she had informed the people there that they knew to expect us. We offered the woman our thanks and left the police station behind, getting on with our plans for the day.
We decided to make our way to Maebashi Park by foot, as we weren't in any rush with the whole day still ahead of us. On the way, we stopped by a cafe to have some drinks, as well as a couple of stores we came across, but we didn't really want to buy anything just yet, as we would have had to carry it all throughout the day. Once again, I found simply walking together with Yuzuru to be relaxing and fulfilling by itself, even before we got to the park. And I could tell Yuzuru felt the same as I did, and knowing that only made me happier. I would never have guessed that love could change me this much, but I knew I was the happiest I would ever be when standing by Yuzuru, and I was eternally grateful to fate – or whatever other force there was – for causing us to meet.
We eventually arrived at the park, and I don't think there could have been any better place for resting our legs. It was easily the largest park I had ever been to, with beautiful greenery, and the small lake in the centre of it had the clearest water in it I had ever seen, making Maebashi certainly live up to its reputation. Even without the cherry blossoms, the park was still a sight to behold, and I took a multitude of photos as we made our way around it hand-in-hand, eventually coming to one of the Shinto shrines within the park, where we spent a bit of time before moving on. Neither of us were particularly religious, though the things I knew – and what Yuzuru remembered – certainly got us to think while we paid our respects at the shrine. We knew the Afterlife existed, and that fate had been the unseen force that had pulled us together in this life, but not whether those things had someone or something behind them. And I felt that even if we all regained our memories, there would be some things that we would never find out, the true nature of the Afterlife being one of those. We didn't dwell on the complicated stuff for long, though, and instead continued on with our date.
Our next stop was a historical landmark, the Rinkokaku, which was apparently a VIP guest house of sorts built for the Emperor in the late 1800s. Initially, I had been sceptical about visiting such a place for our date, but after we arrived, I couldn't hide the fact that I was impressed. The large wooden building was quite beautiful on the outside, and as we toured the rooms inside, a part of me started to wish I could live in a more traditional-style house like this one, rather than my somewhat dreary western-style apartment. I found myself thinking that perhaps in the future, Yuzuru and I could find and buy a place like this for ourselves, but once I realized what the idea implicated, I had to force it out of my head before my blush and increased heart rate became apparent to Yuzuru. Of course, I knew I loved Yuzuru and that he loved me, and I did feel like I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, but we had only just begun dating – it was far too early to think about… marriage. There were more pressing matters for both of us in the near future, like finding a new part-time job for me, and both of of our University studies. Advancing our relationship that far was not even anywhere near the to-do list yet.
…
...Though that doesn't mean I couldn't dream of such things.
After our visit to the Rinkokaku, we were both feeling a bit peckish, so we made our way to a restaurant that we had scouted out while we were waiting at the police station earlier. The place was relatively cheap, but the chicken they served was sublime, so we stuffed ourselves full while chatting about our plans for the rest of the day. By the time we finished, we had decided that now would be the best time to go about seeing Noda, if we still wanted to go to Mount Akagi today. So, after leaving the restaurant, we started making our way to the police station that served as the head of the Gunma Prefecture police force.
Fitting for its position, the station was much larger than the one we had went to previously, but with it being the weekend, there were very few people there for business. We didn't have to wait for long until we were able to speak with the person manning the reception desk – a man clearly older than either of us, this time. As soon as we told him our business here, he said that they'd been expecting us, and guided Yuzuru and I to a separate side room, where another man was sat working on a computer with a tall police officer leaning over his shoulder.
"Officer, they're here." The man from the reception desk said to the policeman as we entered, and he lifted his gaze to look at the two of us.
"Ah, good. Otonashi Yuzuru and Nakamura Yuri, yes? You're here for visiting one of the arrestees we have detained here, correct?" The officer asked as he walked to us, while the receptionist left, closing the door behind him. If I didn't know that the receptionist at the other station had told them our names, I would be super freaked out over a police officer knowing my name.
"Yes, we are. We explained things at the other station already, but… Noda is a friend of ours, so when we saw that he had been arrested, we wanted to come and see him." Yuzuru explained, and the officer nodded in reply. I know what Yuzuru is getting at by calling him our 'friend' – he was that in the Afterlife, after all – but if Noda doesn't have his memories, they're going to be mighty suspicious if he doesn't recognize us…
"A surprisingly common request whenever an arrest happens, especially with petty criminals. But, forgive me, I know your names, but you don't even know mine." The officer offered his hand to us and smiled. "My name is Otosaka Shunsuke, and I'm a senior officer here." We each took turns shaking his hand, and I happened to take note of his odd eye colour – they looked blue, but it was as if the colour had faded significantly. Combined with his hair, which was light greyish, almost light purple in hue, he stuck out from the other personnel I had seen at the station so far. "So, before I can let you meet with the arrestee, there are standard procedures we have to go through. In short, we'll be checking your records and asking you some questions, then we'll perform a body check on you to make sure you're not carrying any contraband with you. Understood?" We both nodded to the officer, and he smiled at us again. "Great! Let's get started, then."
Yuzuru and took our seats in front of the desk and handed our IDs to the man at the computer, while Officer Otosaka stood next to him. The questions he asked from us were simple – how we knew Noda, if we knew about his criminal activities, what exactly our business with him was and when we had last seen him. Yuzuru explained that we were friends from a long time ago, and hadn't seen in years, while I added that we didn't know he had fallen to a life of crime until we saw the article about his arrest, so we simply wanted to speak with him again. When Otosaka asked us what Noda had been like when we were still in contact, Yuzuru answered by describing him as reckless and hot-headed, but still a loyal friend. Throughout our questioning, I got the feeling that the officer must have known Noda personally, due to the way he asked us questions and reacted to our answers. We were lucky that we knew what Noda had been like in the Afterlife, and that he hadn't changed much in this life – otherwise we would have been in a pinch.
"Right, I suppose that is enough questions for now." Officer Otosaka said as his colleague at the computer handed our IDs back to us. "Now we just have the body check, so if you'd follow me over this way, we can get it underway." He gestured to another door leading out of the room, then led us through it to a long room with a large table against one wall, while a metal detector separated the rest of the room from a stall of some sort, next to which a female police officer was stood, waiting. "I'll kindly ask you to leave any loose items from your pockets onto the table here, then enter the stall, where Officer Ayumi here will pat you down." I met the eyes of the smiling female officer, before I shifted my gaze to Yuzuru.
"I want to remind you not to get any bright ideas while your getting checked, Yuzuru. I'll be less than ten metres away from you." I said in a teasing tone and smirked at Yuzuru, who let out a sigh, eliciting a chuckle from Otosaka.
"Hah! If the young lady is worried about her boyfriend, I can perform the check on him instead." Otosaka said with a grin, going along with my joke, while Yuzuru rubbed his temple.
"...You don't have to trouble yourself. Let's just get this over with."
As we left our things on the table as instructed, we decided that I would undergo the body check first. I passed through the metal detector and stepped into the stall, while the female officer followed suit – not walking through the detector herself, as it would have no doubt reacted – and closed the stall door behind her. I lifted my hands up in the air in accordance with her instructions, then stood still while she checked all over my clothing with her hands. The check wasn't particularly thorough, and I was out of the stall quickly enough. Yuzuru entered after me while I collected my things again, and it didn't take long for both of us to be ready with our body checks – all clean, of course.
"Everything seems to be good, so I can take you to meet our mutual friend, now." Officer Otosaka said once we had gathered everything again. "Come, I'll escort you to the cells." We followed after the officer out of the room as he led us through the building towards the area where the cells were located.
"Do you know Noda personally, then?" I asked from Otosaka, voicing my thoughts from when he was questioning us.
"Eh, I wouldn't go that far. He's a relative of my stepbrother, but I've never interacted with his side of the family. We first met through my work – I was behind his first arrest, you see. I was working under the Tokyo Prefectural police back then, and it was definitely a memorable first meeting. We've seen each other here and there after that, and I've been chasing after him for the past month or so, but I wasn't unfortunately the one to get to arrest him this time. But, now he's under my care here, at least until we can get a trial for him." The officer explained to us.
"When do you think his trial will be held?" Yuzuru was now the one to speak, and Otosaka shrugged in response.
"Not sure. His previous crimes were dealt with by fines, but this time he might end up serving time. He hasn't admitted to anything, stubborn as he is, but given that he's become somewhat infamous here in Maebashi, the higher-ups will want to deal with him sooner rather than later. If we can't squeeze a confession out of him this weekend, things might drag on, but at the earliest… It'll be at some point next week." Otosaka glanced back at us as he finished, and Yuzuru gave him a nod in reply. So it was good that we came here now, then, or otherwise we would have been too late. "Right, here we are. Noda is held in the cell right at the back, this way." Otosaka lead us through a door to an area where multiple small cells could be found. Other than their small size, they didn't seem too terrible to live in, but I still didn't want to know what it would feel like to spend a night locked up at a police station.
As we followed the officer, I could feel my heartbeat slowly rising, and I took a hold of Yuzuru's hand. I can't remember anything about Noda, and so far I've only seen a picture of him, but this is making me kind of nervous… He'll likely recognize us, but whether or not he remembers us is another thing entirely. Though, I'm less nervous about actually meeting him than I am about what Officer Otosaka will think if Noda's reaction to us suggests something else other than us being friends… Finally, Otosaka stopped by the final cell, glanced back at us, then knocked on one of the bars of the cell door. Here we go.
"Hey, Noda! You've got visitors." In response to Otosaka's words, I heard a grunt from the cell, and the officer turned back to us and motioned for us to come closer. "They're friends of yours, so you could at least say hi." Yuzuru and I looked at each other, nodded, then walked up to Otosaka, peering into the cell.
Lying down on the bed inside the cell with his gaze directed at the ceiling was tall young man with the same shade of purple hair as in the photo I had seen in the news article yesterday. His legs were crossed, one of them lazily kicking the air as he promptly ignored the three of us. But, one thing was certain, and that was the feeling of Déjà-vu I had when I looked at him.
"...Noda?" I said his name out loud without even thinking about it, and the movement of his leg froze in place. Slowly, he turned to look in our direction, bringing to view his purple eyes, which widened in shock and surprise as his gaze landed on us.
"Huh, you got his attention. Want to come work for us, young lady? You'd make a great interrogator for some of the more troublesome guests we have." Otosaka said in jest, while Noda stood up from the bed, and I could almost picture a halberd in his hands as he stood at his full height. This… He really is… I can almost… remember… I tried to focus on the feeling I had, hoping to remember anything as my grip on Yuzuru's hand tightened. Suddenly, Noda had closed the distance between us, gripping onto the metal bars of his cell as he leaned closer to us, his mouth opening and closing like a fish brought onto land.
Then, he spoke.
"...Yurippe?"
AN: And there we have it. I apologize that this took so long, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. There are some things regarding the next chapter I still need to work out the details on, but other than that, I have plenty of ideas that I want to incorporate – I definitely want to write more fluff in the future. If all goes according to plan, I'll have the next chapter out before the year changes over, but we'll have to see how things go with the story project I'll be starting.
Until next time, I bid you all farewell, and cheerio!